Dang Regis! You really hit home on this. I can totally relate to it. I really like what and how strong and powerful the truth written so... Real.

Tracey O.

These verses have a profundity that goes beyond the actual topic. Living in a world in which millions are deprived of any true prospect and in which all of us are deprived of integrity, where shallowness is extolled and those profound, essential values which make us human are trampled underfoot, it is not surprising how many of us are resorting to drugs or fall for false promises: saviours that are really destroyers, relief that is really poison, life that is really death. I have lost a very dear friend to drugs and witnessed things I will never forget. Too much of all that for one life. Truly, we are not through with this and despair and resignation will not gain the upper hand in the long run.

REGIS, I AM TERRIBLY SORRY ABOUT HER AND YOUR LOSS AND YOUR OBVIOUS PAIN. I DON'T KNOW...BUT I BELIEVE I READ THIS BEFORE. IN ANY CASE, I DO UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM AND, OF COURSE, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS SAD COIN. BUT LET ME TRY TO EXPLAIN IT.
I SPEAK TO YOU FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE BECAUSE YOU KNOW ASA, MY SON, USED TO BE A DEALER. FROM THE TENDER AGE OF 10/11 YEARS OLD, HE HAD BEEN IN AND OUT OF JAIL FOR SELLING DRUGS. WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW IS THAT THERE ARE 'TWO' ADDICTS IN YOUR TRAGEDY. ONE IS THE USER AND THE OTHER IS THE SELLER...THE DEATH DEALER. BECAUSE, REALLY, THOUGH IT'S HARD TO ACCEPT, THE DEALER IS ALSO 'CAUGHT UP' IN AN ADDICTION. THE ADDICTION OF FAST MONEY WITH NO VISIBLE 'BOSS' THEY HAVE TO ANSWER TO. THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT LAZY...THEY'RE USUALLY ON THE STREET FROM EARLY IN THE MORNING UNTIL LATE AT NIGHT. THOUGH THEY USUALLY HAVE THEIR OWN HANGUPS LIKE NOT TRUSTING PEOPLE AND ALWAYS LOOKING OVER THEIR SHOULDER FOR A RIVAL THAT'S TRYING TO KILL THEM OR DUCKING THE POLICE, THE DEALERS BECOMES INGRAINED IN THIS LIFESTYLE WITH MOST BEING BORN INTO THIS ATMOSPHERE. FROM THE TIME THEY TOOK THEIR FIRST STEPS THEY SAW THEM THERE...THE DEALERS ON THE CORNERS...THEIR 'TERRITORIES', WHICH THEY DEFEND WITH THEIR LIFE. VIOLENCE IS COMMON TO THEM SO, THE SELLER ALSO KNOWS, THEY PROBABLY WILL NOT LIVE BEYOND 35 YEARS OF AGE...IF THAT LONG. BUT THE LURE OF THE GREAT CARS AND CLOTHES AND ABUNDANCE OF MONEY IS OVERPOWERING. USUALLY THE ADMIRATION AND YEN FOR SUCH THINGS STARTS WITH A INDIVIDUAL LOOKING FOR A 'FATHER FIGURE', WHICH IS USUALLY ABSENT FROM THE HOME. THE ONLY MALES THEY SEE ARE THE GUYS ON THE CORNER WHO ARE WILLING TO SHARE THEIR TAINTED WISDOM BECAUSE SOMEONE SHARED IT WITH THEM AND THAT'S ALL THEY GOT TO SHARE. THEY ARE TAUGHT FROM YOUNG AND EVENTUALLY THEY SHARE THEIR 'WISOM' WITH SOMEONE ELSE AND THE SICK CYCLE GOES ON AND ON. REGIS...I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYBODY SAYS...A MALE CHILD NEEDS A 'FATHER'!!! A STRONG POSITIVE MALE IN THEIR LIFE THAT THEY CAN TURN TO AND GET GOOD POSITIVE DIRECTION FROM. SURE, THERE'S MOM, BUT 'MOM' HAS HER HANGUPS AND SHE'S JUST NOT ALL HE NEEDS. SO, UNTIL 'MOM'(IF SHE EVER DOES), BY THE GRACE OF GOD, GETS HER LIFE TOGETHER AND GETS THE GUIDED STRENGTH SHE NEEDS FROM ABOVE...THAT CHILD IS LOST AND HAS BECOME ROOTED AND GROUNDED(ADDICTED) TO THE 'STREET LIFE'. GOD IS THE ONLY ANSWER I KNOW. ASA HAS SOME POETRY ON HIS DEN THAT DESCRIBES THE BEGINNING OF HIS JOURNEY OF ENLIGHTENMENT. RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD I'M REMEMBER...'ELEPHANT SKIN', 'RUB OFF'. IF YOU WOULD, WHEN YOU HAVE THE TIME PLEASE GO TO HIS DEN AND READ HIS POETRY, IT TELLS SO MUCH. DEALERS, EVEN IF THEY WANT TO, CAN'T MAKE THE TURN-AROUND IF THEY HAVE TO STAY IN THE SAME PLACE, THEY JUST CAN'T. IT'S HOME TO THEM. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES, THROUGH THE YEARS, ASA CAME OUT OF INCARCERATION WITH A MADE UP MIND TO NOT SELL ANYMORE, BUT IT ONLY TOOK A FEW DAYS BEFORE HE WAS BACK OUT THERE. THEY BECOME BRAINWASHED AND THINK THAT'S ALL THEY CAN DO. THE PRISON SYSTEM REALLY DOESN'T PREPARE THEM TO BECOME STABLE. BY THE GRACE OF GOD, ASA DID GET HIS HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA BUT IT'S A TERRIBLE MERRY-GO-ROUND...IN, OUT...IN, OUT...ETC. AND THE BIGGEST TRIAL THEY FACE; SWITCHING FROM MAKING HUNDREDS A DAY...TO MAKING HARDLY OVER A HUNDRED IN A WHOLE WEEK BECAUSE OF A LACK OF EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS AND HAVING TO ACCEPT LOW MINIMUM WAGES. IT IS ONLY AFTER BEING SHOT 3 SEPARATE TIMES(THE LAST TIME LEAVING HIM WITH CHRONIC PAIN) THAT MY SON HAS NOW SEEN THE LIGHT. AND HE THANKS GOD FOR BEING SHOT BECAUSE HE FEELS IF HE WASN'T PHYSICALLY DEBILITATED, HE PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE STOPPED. HE REGRETS THE LIFESTYLE BUT DOES SYMPATHIZE AND UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE ARE STILL CAUGHT UP IN IT. ALL OF HIS CHILDHOOD FRIENDS ARE EITHER DEAD OR IN PRISON. NOW, HE DOESN'T WANT TO GO BACK 'HOME', HE DOESN'T WANT TO LEAD THAT LIFESTYLE ANYMORE, HE HAS HAD ENOUGH, HE'S MADE UP HIS MIND ...SO MUCH SO THAT HE HAS BEEN HOMELESS HERE IN ATLANTA. HE COULDN'T STAY WITH ME BECAUSE I LIVE IN A HUD SUBSIDIZED SENIOR CITIZEN'S COMPLEX SO...IT ISN'T EASY REGIS, IT ISN'T EASY FOR EITHER THE USER OR THE SELLER TO BREAK A LIFESTYLE THAT IS KILLING THEM ON ONE SIDE BUT BRINGING PLEASURE ON THE OTHER. ONLY GOD! THAT'S THE ONLY ANSWER I CAN GIVE TO THIS PLAGUE THAT HAS GOTTEN WAY OUT OF HAND. IT IS ONLY WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL, WHO IS BLINDED BY SIN, BECOMES CONVICTED BY THE SPIRIT OF ALMIGHTY GOD, AND GAIN THEIR 'SIGHT'...THAT THEY RECEIVE THE STRENGTH TO 'LEAN ON GOD' AND HAVE 'FAITH IN HIM' TO HELP THEM TURN THEIR LIFE AROUND, BUT THEY HAVE GOT TO BE ABLE TO 'ADMIT' THEIR WRONG DOING AND 'WANT' TO MAKE THE CHANGE.
AND I AM REMINDED THAT THE WRITER OF THE HYMN 'AMAZING GRACE' WAS A SLAVE TRADER UNTIL HE GAVE HIS LIFE TO GOD AND PENNED HIS TESTIMONY. ALSO, I ONCE HEARD A SERMON AND THE MINISTER SAID THAT AT ONE TIME HE LEAD A EXTREMELY WAYWARD LIFE...AND HE SAID THERE WASN'T ONE DAY THAT WENT BY WHEN HE WAS NOT TEMPTED TO GO BACK BUT HE THANKED GOD FOR THE STRENGTH NOT TO. ONLY GOD...ONLY GOD! ALSO, HELEN BAYLOR, A GOSPEL SINGER, GIVES HER TESTIMONY ABOUT HER 'INSTANT DELIVERANCE' IN HER ALBUM, 'HELEN BAYLOR GREATEST HITS'.
AT THIS POINT, I WOULD BE AMISS IF I DIDN'T MAKE A STATEMENT THAT
GOT DOWN TO THE REAL BASIS OF THINGS; THE DEALER ON THE CORNER DOES NOT PLANT AND GROW THE DRUGS. THE DEALER ON THE CORNER DOES NOT TRANSPORT THE DRUGS INTO THIS COUNTRY. OUR GOVERNMENT IS THOROUGHLY LACKING WHEN IT COMES TO STOPPING THE IMPORT OF DRUGS INTO THIS COUNTRY!!! THEY ARE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT INDIVIDUALS AND THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR IT! AND THOUGH PEOPLE LOBBY 'NOTHING' SUFFICIENT HAS BEEN DONE TO SUPPORT A LARGE SCALE EFFORT TO STOP THIS ACTIVITY FROM HAPPENING! BUT THEN EVERYBODY KNOWS THERE IS A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT GOES INTO CERTAIN 'POCKETS' TO LOOK THEY OTHER WAY.
SO, THIS PROBLEM GOES SO MUCH DEEPER THAN THE 'DEATH DEALER' AND I HOPE, IN SOME SMALL WAY, I'VE MADE THINGS CLEARER.
AGAIN...I AM TERRIBLY SORRY ABOUT YOUR LOSS. THANKS FOR SHARING. LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH...HIS+INSPIRATIONS

I have not lost any friend or family to drugs, but 2020 came in like a category 5 hurricane and took out 4 family members due to COVID-19. I certainly share your pain.

My first wife and son died of drug abuse in the 70s. I do understand but in time, the pain will lesson, trust God keep praying, keep doing good, keep living! Soon the victory will be yours! Peace!!!

This piece is extremely thoughtfully written. It brings out the pain and despair of the poet beautifully but at the same time has a subtle flicker of hope!
Thank you for writing the poem!🙏

This is so beautifully written, and relatable.

What a powerful piece! So filled with pain, angst, and anger. And a sense of helplessness. Illicit drugs and their accompanying nightmares are rampant here as well. What is it that is so missing, I wonder, that people are rendered vulnerable to their seductions? So sad.

Rebecca